agelessfantasy

A long time ago, when magic was real and dragons flew through the air, when knights jousted and kings ruled, there existed many races. Humans, goblins, dragons, elves, dwarves, and many more. But there was one race that was shrouded in mystery, the Elementals. Beings made entirely of fire, water, earth, air, or any other sort of element. This story centers in upon one being. A metal elemental. His name was Morak.

Chapter 1

It all started in a small town named Desteray. It was a simple town. An inn, a pub, a few stores, houses, of course. A blacksmith, flour mill, and trade carts scattered here and there. The scenery was nice and simple. A forest to the side, grass all around, a chain of mountains in the distance, and a lake near by.

Now, the inhabitants of this town were not cruel. They were average. Mostly nice folk, with a few mean ones here and there. But enough of all that. Now the story begins.

In the pub, tables were scattered about. They were round, simple, baring no intricate designs on them. Four chairs were set at each. There was also the bar. Clean and simple wood. Behind it, set on a rack, were bottles of all kinds, holding the drinks. A man also stood behind it.

He was a burly man, with hairy, very muscular arms. His face was a bit pudgy, and had a grey mustache and beard. His eyes were a calm brown, as well as was his hair, which was of average length, well groomed. He wore a simple white apron over a green tunic and long pants. He continuously cleaned a beer glass, more just waiting for a customer than cleaning the glass.

In the pub was a buzz of noise. The clatter of glasses on the tables, of talking, of laughing. The place was almost full, men and a few women sitting in all the chairs and most of the bar stools, leaving only a few bar stools for newcomers.

The door suddenly opened. Most did not notice, but a few did and would cock an eyebrow at the person who entered. The person wore a cloak that covered his whole body, as well as a hood that shrouded the face. He walked in slowly, each step sending a resounding clunk of metal as he walked through the pub. He would sit down on a stool, it creaking under his weight. The barman walked over and stood before him. He would speak in a gruff, but warm, voice.

“Anything I can get you?”

Without looking up the cloaked one would speak to him in a low, deep, male voice that had a strange tone, as if metal were grinding against metal as he talked.

“No, thank you.”

The barman nodded and walked away without another word.

After a few minutes two men walked up to the man, wobbling a bit, obviously drunk. As one spoke, his words slurred together a bit.

“Hey. If you aren’t going to drink, leave. You’re taking up the space.”

The cloaked man remained silent and unmoving.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.”

The man reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to spin him around. All that ended of that was a grunt and the man’s muscles straining as the tried to turn the man.

“What the…this guy weighs a ton!”

The other man reached out toward the man’s hood. Suddenly a cloaked arm whirled around striking one in the side, slamming them together. They flew across the room, screaming, before hitting the wall and falling into a heap, the screams turning into groans of pain as they lay still.

At that moment everything got quiet, all noise stopping. Everyone simply stared at the cloaked man. The hood turned right and left, as if he was challenging anyone to speak up, to make a comment, anything. The barman came up behind him.

“Hey now, no fighting in my pub.”

His hand reached out to the guy’s shoulder. The man jerked, spinning around. As he did, his hood fell off. Suddenly everyone began screaming and panicking, trying to get out, stumbling on to each other, scrambling over each other. The barman had fallen on to the ground, his face stricken with terror, the glass he had been cleaning shattered to his side.

The head revealed was definitely not human. It was made entirely of silver metal. Spikes jutted out everywhere, razor sharp. Two large spikes curved out from the back of the supposed head, splitting farther a part from each other the farther they got. No eyes were evident, or even a mouth.

Three men had remained behind, standing about ten feet away from the being. The apparent leader had an enormous broadsword strung to his back. He wore black leather combat armor, along with having dark blue eyes, and shaggy black hair. The other, to the right and behind the first, wore simple red robes. A chain ran from his right hip, attached to an intricately made book, which was now held in the man’s hands, at the ready. A hood covered his face and head. The last man, to the left and behind, held a massive double-sided axe. Metal plating covered his shoulders, forearms, shins, elbows, and knees. Under it was a simple black tunic and black shorts, leaving his strong muscles bare. He had long black hair and pure black eyes. The first spoke in a quick, sharp voice as he drew his broadsword.

“Elemental, leave now or we will kill you.”

The elemental spoke back in that same deep voice that sounded of metal grinding.

“I’m staying.”

“So be it.”

The two with weapons lunged forward, weapons held before them, ready. The other began to chant in a low, ancient voice of another language, opening the book. The two men’s eyes flared and suddenly their skinned turned a darker color and their muscles expanded, growing stronger.

The elemental raised two spiked hands, the fingers being made of tiny spikes. He grabbed both blades, grunting with the impact. Sparks showered them briefly. He pushed them both back with a grunt and jumped, flipping backwards on to the top of the bar. The wood creaked where he stood, cracking slightly with his weight. He raised his arms straight up to the ceiling and flung them down. Two large spikes shot out from under his sleeves. He grabbed them at the base and crouched, standing ready with his odd choice of weapons.

The two men stumbled backwards for a second before reorienting back on to the elemental. The robed man continued chanting, raising a hand, fingers spread, to the elemental just as the two men charged again, coming in from both sides. Just as they were about to strike, the robed man’s hand suddenly glowed white hot and a fireball shot out from his palm towards the elemental, striking him head on in less than a second. It struck and surged around the elemental, though not harming the wood beneath it. Both men continued coming on, yelling as they swung their blades at the burning mass. Suddenly two blazing white metal spikes shot out of the flame, accompanied by the elemental’s arms, which were the same. The blades met spikes. Sparks flew and the two men’s weapons suddenly began to melt, the remaining metal turning white hot. The two flung their blades down and looked to the robed man. He chanted a few more strange words as the fire died down and the elemental returned to normal. Suddenly the blades seemed to reverse their own destruction and repair themselves, also having a strange new glow to them. The elemental went into position once more, the bar creaking under him as he moved. The men stayed back, silent, eyes darting around. They knew this would be a hard fight.

Suddenly, a shriek came from behind, making the elemental’s head look over the others and made the others turn around and look. The shriek sounded female, and indeed it was. It had come from a slender woman who stood in the doorway. She was a tan color in skin, and wore a white baggy shirt with puffed up sleeves, as well as pants that had puffed up legs. She wore a tight fitting belt around her waist, with a shining gold buckle in the shape of a scimitar. She had brown hair, smooth and straight, which fell down to her waist. Her eyes were a sharp green. She had a large blood red scimitar over her shoulder, one hand on it, holding it in place. She spoke then in a voice with an accent that was not local in origin.

“Don’t lay another finger on that elemental. He works for me!”

The leading man turned around, walking toward her calmly.

“And who might you be?”

She laughed, heaving the scimitar around and point down, embedding the tip in the floor.

“I am the Bloody Maiden, you pathetic excuse of a bounty hunter.”

The man snarled slightly at the comment.

“I know of no Bloody Maiden, but you will be bloody soon enough.”

He gave a jerk of the head toward the axe wielder. The man grinned a bit darkly and moved toward her. The leader turned back toward the elemental, which was looking to the woman, metal head cocked slightly.

The axe wielder suddenly rushed at the woman, axe whirling towards her. The scimitar came out of the floor and up to block the axe with a resounding clang. She pushed it back with a small grunt, knocking the axe wielder off balance. With the time given to her she suddenly darted around the group and stopped beside the elemental, who had jumped down from the bar to meet her. As the others regrouped together, disorientated a bit, she leaned in to the elemental, whispering.

“Come with me. These men may seem to be bumbling at the moment, but they are known to be capable bounty hunters when they get their bearings. I’ll give you transportation as well if you promise to become my bodyguard.”

The elemental looked down at her briefly before looking back to the men. The robed man was chanting once more, waving a hand slightly. The elemental jerked slightly as if recognizing the spell. He looked back to the woman, speaking in his grinding voice.

“Fine.”

She grinned and flipped open a pouch on her belt and pulled out a small black sphere. She threw it on to the ground, smashing it. Smoke billowed out around them. The two then burst out of the bar, smoke trailing out after them. The spikes the elemental had wielded were gone and the scimitar was once more slung over the woman’s shoulder. They ran down the street, disappearing around a corner before the three men came out, heads turning about. The leader yelled loudly and stomped the ground at a bounty having been lost.

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